Prospective spot: City centre, an area Lehman says is well served by transit.

Programming: Engineering, environmental and applied sciencesand data security, the latter because two major banks and IBM have set up data centres in Barrie.

Milton, population85,000

Pitch: “It’s the gateway to the GTA,” says Bill Mann, Milton’s director of planning and development. That means students can live in the GTA but use public transit to get to Milton. Plus, the town already has an agreement with Wilfrid Laurier University to build a satellite campus.

Prospective spot: The town is developing a site called the Milton Education Village, adjacent to the Niagara Escarpment.

Programming: Laurier would be looking to offer programming in Milton not offered at its other two campuses, Mann said.

Brampton, population 530,000

Pitch: “The reality is, campuses need to go where the jobs are,” said Mayor Susan Fennell, listing Medtronic, the creator of the pacemaker, as one of many possible employers. And as Canada’s ninth largest city, Brampton just needs a university, she said.

Prospective spot: The Sheridan College Brampton campus. The city hopes to either expand Sheridan and attain university status, or build a satellite campus nearby.

Programming: Health care, nursing and life sciences are in major demand, said Fennell.

East Gwillimbury, population23,000

Pitch: Mayor Virginia Hackson thinks her town has an edge because the campus would be built on a blank canvas. “We’ll be building a university as well as a community at the same time, so we will be able to ensure that the community built around the university is compatible with the university lifestyle.”

Prospective spot: There are a number in the running, including locations near the local GO station.

Programming: Hackson said the goal is to partner with an existing institution and offer programming that it has deemed necessary.

With files from Noor Javed

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